China News Service, January 26th: The State Council Information Office held a press conference on the 26th to introduce the situation of seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through advancement, and promoting high-quality business development to achieve new breakthroughs. Wang Wentao, Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, said at the meeting that in the past 2023, the Ministry of Commerce resolutely implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, united as one, and overcame difficulties to promote overall stable business operations throughout the year and take new steps in high-quality development. It can be summed up simply in three words:
The first word is "guarantee stability". The "troika" that drives national economic growth includes consumption, investment, net exports, and business work. Specifically, in terms of consumption, total retail sales of consumer goods hit a record high, and final consumer spending will contribute 82.5% to economic growth in 2023. In terms of foreign trade, the import and export of goods achieved positive growth in RMB based on a high base, and the international export market share remained stable at around 14%. In terms of two-way investment, the actual scale of foreign capital used was the third highest in history; foreign non-financial direct investment increased by 16.7% in RMB. Generally speaking, these areas have maintained basic stability and made positive contributions to the recovery of the national economy.
The second word is "improvement". That is to say, if you look at it, the structure is constantly optimized, and the quality and gold content of development are constantly improving. For example, in terms of consumption, online retail sales increased by 11% and continued to maintain a rapid growth rate; service retail sales increased by 20%, showing great growth potential. In terms of foreign trade, my country's import and export proportion of intermediate goods reached 61.1%, remaining at a historical high; in particular, the import and export proportion of private enterprises increased by 3.1 percentage points, reaching 53.5%, firmly occupying "half of the country". In terms of foreign investment, the proportion of investment in high-tech industries and manufacturing has increased. In terms of foreign investment, the growth rate of foreign investment in manufacturing, wholesale and retail industries is higher than the average, and foreign investment cooperation in green, digital, blue and other fields continues to expand.
The third word is “empowerment.” New momentum for development in some fields continues to emerge. For example, the proportion of online retail sales of physical goods in total retail sales has increased to 27.6%, a record high. For example, green, health, smart products, and domestic “trendy products” are highly favored and have become new consumption patterns. Hot spots; automobile exports increased by more than 50%, and cross-border e-commerce exports increased by 19.6%, both becoming new engines for foreign trade growth; the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises increased by 39.7%, fully reflecting the enthusiasm of foreign investors to share opportunities in the Chinese market. Others have made new progress and breakthroughs, such as the completion of text negotiations on the WTO Investment Facilitation Agreement, which is the first major issue that China has taken the lead in the WTO. Newly signed or upgraded free trade agreements with four countries including Nicaragua. The first Chinese plan on strengthening international economic and trade cooperation in the digital and green fields was released, which received positive response from more than 30 countries and international organizations.
Wang Wentao emphasized that this year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of New China and is a critical year for achieving the goals and tasks of the "14th Five-Year Plan". The Ministry of Commerce will adhere to the "three important" positioning of business work, promote consumption from post-epidemic recovery to continued expansion, consolidate the basics of foreign trade and foreign investment, expand high-level opening up to the outside world, and use practical actions and results of high-quality business development to promote economic recovery. Make positive contributions to the betterment and promotion of Chinese-style modernization.